In everyday life, doors and doorways are ubiquitous. They are constructed in all shapes and sizes, from the very small to the very large.
An entry door of a structure, such as an office building, a home, or other structure, may control entry from an area outside of the structure into the interior of the structure. Sometimes, a door will be positioned between one interior point in a structure, such as a hallway, and a second area within the structure, such as a bedroom or other type of room. A business may have a structure where many office people work where a room is designated for a manager or an accountant. It may be desirable to protect sensitive information within that room from others, and a locking door knob is often installed on the door to prevent entry by the general public. In a home, for example, a door may be disposed between a hallway of the home and a room occupied by children.
Typically, a doorframe is constructed so that a closed door will be resting next to or against a door jam or door stop. The general function of the door jam or door stop in this example is to prevent a door from becoming overextended against the hinges. Overextension would put stress on the hinges of the door and might cause permanent damage, depending on the degree of overextension.
One commonality for many doors is that they are hinged on one edge, a right side edge, for example, and have a door latching mechanism, e.g. a doorknob coupled to a latch, on a different edge, such as a left edge. Correspondingly, a door may instead be hinged on an edge of the left side and have a door latching mechanism on an edge of the right side.
Door latching mechanisms come in a wide variety of shapes and capability, but typically serve to latch the door closed when desired. Additionally, some door latching mechanisms provide an additional locking feature allowing a user of the door latching mechanism to secure the door against use by an unauthorized person. Typically, a key is provided with such a door latching mechanism which is used by a user to physically unlock the door latching mechanism, thus allowing use of a door knob on the door latching mechanism to unlatch and open the door.
Prior art locking door latching mechanisms are useful for their intended purpose but the locking functionality of those prior art locking door latching mechanisms are easily defeated by nefarious persons, such as thieves or other persons that a property owner may want to keep out of an area protected by the door latching mechanism. It is fairly easy to acquire the tools and learn how to pick, e.g. unlock, various locks without having to use a key to unlock the door latching mechanism.
Further, prior art locking door latching mechanisms typically require a person to have a key and be present at the door latching mechanism in order to unlock and open the door. Thus, using those prior art locking door latching mechanisms, an owner or other person in authority must provide a key to another person who needs access, thus requiring that the key somehow be provided to the person needing access. Finally, the person needing access or any other person having a key might unintentionally lose the key, thus allowing others who find the key to gain access to areas protected by the prior art locking door latching mechanisms.
Therefore, what is needed is a new door security device which can secure a door against use by unauthorized persons.